Hollywood yielding to China's growing film clout

In this photo taken Saturday, April 6, 2013, U.S. actor Robert Downey Jr. appears in between images of Iron Man on stage in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple before the May release of his film "Iron Man 3" at Beijing's Forbidden City. From demanding changes in plot lines that denigrate the Chinese leadership, to dampening lurid depictions of sex and violence, Beijing is having increasing success in pressuring Hollywood into deleting movie content Beijing finds objectionable. It's even getting American studios to sanction alternative versions of films specially tailored for Chinese audiences, like "Iron Man 3," which debuts in theaters around the world later this week. The Chinese version features local heartthrob Fan Bingbing ó absent from the version showing abroad ó and lengthy clips of Chinese scenery that local audiences love.(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Beijing is having increasing success in pressuring Hollywood into deleting movie content it finds objectionable. It is demanding changes in plot lines that denigrate the Chinese leadership and removal of lurid depictions of sex and violence

It’s even getting American studios to sanction alternative versions of films specially tailored for Chinese audiences, like “Iron Man 3,” which debuts in theaters around the world later this week.

There’s no secret to what’s driving the change. China is already the second-biggest box office in the world and seems set to surpass the North American market this decade.